LONDON: Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium is to be known as the bet365 Stadium from the start of next season after a sponsorship shift.

They Potters have agreed a six-year stadium naming rights agreement with the club’s owner bet365, which had also extended its shirt sponsorship for a further three years.

In addition, the club has also announced plans to redevelop the stadium by ‘filling in’ the corner between the DPD and Marston’s Pedigree Stands, thereby creating 1,800 extra seats and lifting the capacity above 30,000.

The work will be completed in time for the start of the 2017-18 season.

Chief executive Tony Scholes said: “The Premier League is constantly evolving and to ensure that Stoke City remain as competitive as possible it’s important we explore as many ways as possible of generating revenue.

“As supporters are no doubt aware the Britannia brand no longer exists and it was important that we attracted a new stadium naming rights partner.

“The Premier League is watched around the world and bet365 are a truly global company. We are delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement with them over the stadium naming rights for an initial six year period, along with the extension of their shirt sponsorship agreement.

“We also felt the time was right to redevelop the corner of the ground between the DPD and Marston’s Pedigree Stands. Planning permission has been in place for some time but it was important we carried out the work when we felt the Club was ready for an increase in seat capacity.”

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